How to Extract Data from Scanned PDF Form

If you happen to work in an office that primarily deals with forms, then you know how quickly and easily the workplace can turn into a disorganized mess. Even with the digital age, physical forms are still used for many different purposes in the office. For instance, employees often use forms to amend information on the staff database. The billing department may also require suppliers to fill out physical invoices in order to get paid.

Even with digitization, it's still hard to get rid of physical paper, which means forms will be part of everyday life for years to come. But, users need not suffer because of piles upon piles of forms in the workplace. There are many tools available that can help you get rid of the paper forms without necessarily losing the data they hold. This article offers you a great solution that helps clean out your desk by enabling you to extract data from scanned PDF forms into fully editable digital records.

Part 1Best Program for Form Data Extraction

Out of the many PDF tools available online, PDFelement is one of the most cost-effective options you will ever find. It combines useful features that will let you do practically anything on your PDF files. PDFelement enables you to edit text and images on your PDF files, including elements like auto-fit, autocorrect, font and character editing. It also allows you to insert and edit a whole barrage of annotations, including comments, reviews, stamps, and markups.

PDFelement can convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint, image, HTML, and other file types into PDF and vice-versa at the touch of a button, even in bulk. PDFelement sets itself apart by the number of features it comes with for handling forms and templates. Once you open a form with PDFelement, any editable entries and buttons are automatically activated, enabling you to fill them out quickly and accurately. You can also export form data from standard and scanned PDF forms with a few clicks.

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Part 2How to Extract Data from Scanned PDF Forms

If you scan files like physical receipts and save them to storage as PDF files, you can easily collect form data from these documents without manually typing. In this guide, we describe one of the simplest processes for processing scanned PDF forms. To get started, ensure you have downloaded and installed the latest version of PDFelement. Launch it and follow these steps to convert the documents.

Step 1. Import a Scanned PDF Form

You can upload the file by selecting the "Open File" button on the Home window, navigating through the computer for the file, selecting it, and uploading it by clicking "Open". If you have the files at hand, you can also use the classic drag-and-drop function on either platform to import the file(s).

Step 2. Mark Form Fields

With the file uploaded, click the "Data Extraction" button under the Form tab. This will activate the extraction module for your scanned file. Choose the "Extract data from scanned PDF" option followed by "Next".

You will be able to use your mouse button to select the areas on the scanned PDF files that contain the data you want to be extracted. Drag the cursor over the area on the text fields with data and name each selected area. Finally click "Save Setting" and then "Yes" to proceed.

Step 3. Extract Field Data from Scanned PDF Form

In the following Batch Process window, you can upload more scanned PDF forms with the same appearance into PDFelement. With the files selected, click the "Start" button to begin. The data from each selected area of the PDF file(s) should be extracted one at a time for each PDF form that was uploaded.

When the process completes, you can click "Finish" to find the CSV files for each scanned PDF form on your computer.